# 12th Legislature of the Third Portuguese Republic

The 12th Legislature of the Third Portuguese Republic (Portuguese: XII Legislatura da Terceira República Portuguesa) ran from 20 October 2011 to 22 October 2015. The composition of the Assembly of the Republic, the legislative body of Portugal, was determined by the results of the 2011 legislative election, held on 5 June 2011.

## Election

The 13th Portuguese legislative election was held on 5 June 2011. In the election, the Social Democratic Party (PPD/PSD) became the largest party but fell short of a majority, rellying on the CDS – People's Party (CDS–PP) to form a majority coalition government.
| Party | Party | Assembly of the Republic | Assembly of the Republic | Assembly of the Republic | Assembly of the Republic |
| Party | Party | Votes | % | Seats | +/− |
| | PPD/PSD | 2,159,181 | 38.66 | 108 | +27 |
| | PS | 1,566,347 | 28.05 | 74 | –23 |
| | CDS–PP | 653,888 | 11.71 | 24 | +3 |
| | CDU | 441,147 | 7.90 | 16 | +1 |
| | BE | 288,923 | 5.17 | 8 | –8 |
| | Other/blank/invalid | 475,143 | 8.49 | 0 | ±0 |
| Total | Total | 5,585,054 | 100.00 | 230 | ±0 |

## Composition (2011–2015)

| Party | Party | Parliamentary group leader | Elected | Elected |
| Party | Party | Parliamentary group leader | Seats | % |
| | PPD/PSD | Luís Montenegro (Aveiro) | 108 | 47.0 |
| | PS | Maria de Belém Roseira (Lisbon) (2011) Carlos Zorrinho (Évora) (2011–2013) Alberto Martins (Porto) (2013–2014) Eduardo Ferro Rodrigues (Lisbon) (2014–2015) | 74 | 32.2 |
| | CDS–PP | Nuno Magalhães (Setúbal) | 24 | 10.4 |
| | PCP | Bernardino Soares [pt] (Lisbon) (2011–2013) João Oliveira (Évora) (2013–2015) | 14 | 6.1 |
| | BE | Luís Fazenda (Lisbon) (2011–2012) Pedro Filipe Soares (Aveiro) (2012–2015) | 8 | 3.5 |
| | PEV | Heloísa Apolónia (Setúbal) | 2 | 0.9 |
| Total | Total | Total | 230 | 100.0 |

## Election for President of the Assembly of the Republic

To be elected, a candidate needs to reach a minimum of 116 votes. The Social Democratic Party (PSD) proposed Fernando Nobre as their candidate for president. The CDS – People's Party (CDS–PP) announced that they would abstain from voting for Fernando Nobre, citing concerns that the party didn't consider Nobre to be worthy of being the second most important state figure. The first ballot occurred on 20 June 2011, where Fernando Nobre failed to be elected:
Election of the President of the Assembly of the Republic :
| Ballot → | Ballot → | 20 June 2011 | 20 June 2011 |
| Required majority → | Required majority → | 116 out of 230 | 116 out of 230 |
| | Fernando Nobre (PPD/PSD) | 106 / 230 | N |
| | Blank ballots | 101 / 230 | 101 / 230 |
| | Invalid ballots | 21 / 230 | 21 / 230 |
| | Absentees | 2 / 230 | 2 / 230 |
| Sources: ||||
Following the first ballot, a second ballot was required to take place in the same day. Fernando Nobre was once again the only candidate on the ballot, failing once again to achieve a majority:
Election of the President of the Assembly of the Republic :
| Ballot → | Ballot → | 20 June 2011 | 20 June 2011 |
| Required majority → | Required majority → | 116 out of 230 | 116 out of 230 |
| | Fernando Nobre (PPD/PSD) | 105 / 230 | N |
| | Blank ballots | 101 / 230 | 101 / 230 |
| | Invalid ballots | 22 / 230 | 22 / 230 |
| | Absentees | 2 / 230 | 2 / 230 |
| Sources: ||||
A third ballot was scheduled for the next day, 21 June. Fernando Nobre decided to withraw his candidacy, and the PSD proposed Assunção Esteves as their candidate for president, this time with the support of the CDS–PP. Assunção Esteves was easily elected, becoming the first woman President of the Assembly of the Republic:
Election of the President of the Assembly of the Republic :
| Ballot → | Ballot → | 21 June 2011 | 21 June 2011 |
| Required majority → | Required majority → | 116 out of 230 | 116 out of 230 |
| | Assunção Esteves (PPD/PSD) | 186 / 230 | Y |
| | Blank ballots | 41 / 230 | 41 / 230 |
| | Invalid ballots | 2 / 230 | 2 / 230 |
| | Absentees | 1 / 230 | 1 / 230 |
| Sources: ||||